🫤

Face with Diagonal Mouth

feys with dye-AG-uh-nuhl mouth
Smileys & Emotion Unicode 14.0 common

Meanings

1
Emotional · Uncertainty Common

Expresses mild skepticism, uncertainty, or a lack of enthusiasm. Shows ambivalence or mixed feelings about a situation without strong negative emotion.

Used when feeling underwhelmed or slightly disappointed but not upset enough for a frowning face.

Got a C on my paper. Not terrible but not great either 🫤 📋 Text message
The movie was okay I guess 🫤 Probably wouldn't watch it again 📋 Social media review
When they say the meeting could have been an email 🫤 📋 Work chat

Introduced in 2022, this emoji quickly became popular for expressing the nuanced middle ground between positive and negative reactions.

2
Emotional · Mild Disappointment Common

Conveys slight disappointment or a feeling of being underwhelmed. Represents a reaction that's not strongly negative but definitely not positive.

Often used as a softer alternative to more explicitly negative emojis when expressing mild dissatisfaction.

They were out of my favorite flavor 🫤 📋 Instagram story
When you wait all week for the weekend and it rains the whole time 🫤 📋 Twitter/X post

Fills a specific emotional niche between neutral and negative expressions, making it popular in nuanced digital communication.

Combos with 🫤

🫤😂
Finding humor in a disappointing situation or laughing at one's own ambivalence.
Used to show resilience through humor when things don't go as planned.
🫤👍
Reluctant or unenthusiastic agreement.
Often used in work contexts to signal compliance without enthusiasm.
🫤💯
Sarcastically agreeing that something is disappointing yet accurate.
Popular in Gen Z communication to express ironic agreement.
🫤🙃
Complex feelings of resignation and forced positivity.
Used to express trying to stay positive despite disappointment.

Culture

Fills a specific emotional gap in digital communication between neutral and negative expressions, allowing for more nuanced emotional signaling.

Reflects growing digital literacy and demand for more precise emotional expression tools as online communication becomes increasingly central to social interactions.

Particularly embraced by Gen Z and younger Millennials who value emotional authenticity and nuance in digital communication.

Part of the trend toward expanding emotional expression options in digital platforms, acknowledging the limitations of text-only communication.

United Kingdom Often used with British understatement to convey stronger disappointment than explicitly stated.
United States Often used to express mild political disappointment or reaction to everyday inconveniences.
Gen_X: Adopted primarily in family communications and workplace contexts, often to express mild disappointment without conflict.
Gen_Z: Heavily used to express mild disappointment with social trends, political events, or everyday inconveniences. Common on TikTok and Instagram.
Older: Less frequently used, but sometimes employed in text messages to express mild disappointment with plans or news.
Millennials: Frequently used in work communications and group chats to express mild frustration without seeming negative or unprofessional.

History

2022

Introduced in Unicode 14.0 as part of Emoji 14.0 release.

Growing need for more nuanced emotional expressions in digital communication.

2022

Quickly adopted on TikTok and Twitter for expressing mild disappointment with social trends.

Gen Z seeking more subtle ways to express ambivalence.

2023

Became commonly used in workplace communications as a softer alternative to negative emojis.

Remote work culture demanding more nuanced emotional signaling.